Germany's brewing industry suffered its eighth decline in the last nine years. Beer consumption plummeted to a record low of 29. 7 gallons (112. 5 liters) per person for 2007. In the 1980s, Germans guzzled down 41. 2 gallons (156 liters) of beer. However, Brewery Association managing director Peter Hahn attributed the decline in beer consumption to changing demographics and a poor summer.

A woman was charged Tuesday with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after being found responsible for posting on the Internet a video of a two-year old child smoking a cigarette. Authorities said 33-yaer old Sandra Venery, who was apprehended Sunday, posted the video on the popular social networking website MySpace.

A father sold the hard-to-find video game "Guitar Hero III he bought for his son for $90 as a Christmas present at an online auction for a whopping $9,000 after he caught his 15-year-old teenage son smoking marijuana. The sale occurred after the father searched for the video game for the Nintendo WII game board. The father spent two weeks searching for the video game as a Christmas present for his boy.

A hotel in Portland is giving out silly hats to its customers who go outside for a smoke. Clifton Hotel owner Chaz Charlton, 41, said she came up with the idea after being refused permission by local authorities for a smoking shelter for fear that the shelters could get blown away by sea gales.

lthough smoking is known to cause numerous health problems, including a shortened life-span, one London woman seems to be immune to the perils of cigarettes. Winnie Langley, who turned 100 on Tuesday, celebrated her century-marking birthday by lighting up her 170,000th cigarette-a feat most would consider to anathema to a long life. However, not for Ms. Lamgley, who has been smoking since 1914, when she was just seven years old.